What do parents want? More time with their children. And when parents of children younger than 5 are asked what kind of care they'd like for their children, the vast majority say: a parent at home full time.

Researchers have come up with creative, scientific studies that measure some of the effects of parenting behaviors. Intimate nurturing relationships are highly complex, and they include elements of love, cherishment and intuitive two-way communication.

Emotions are not just a personal issue. A person’s emotional development has effects on how well they function in social situations. Mothers’ and fathers’ emotions and behavior deeply influence their child's emotional and social development.

This article is the last of a five-part series designed to share parents' experiences with raising teenagers. Our articles follow the outline of a study headed by A. Rae Simpson, Ph.D., at the Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health.* Dr. Simpson’s report analyzed a broad range of recent research on teens. It provides a list of the developmental tasks of adolescents, as well as an outline of the five basics of parenting teens. These basics are: 1) love and connect, 2) monitor and observe, 3) guide and limit, 4) model and consult, and 5) provide and advocate.

Teens must have ever increasing opportunities to practice reasoning and decision making: “In order to strengthen their decision-making skills, teens need environments that present neither too little nor too great a level of challenge--neither an overprotective environment that presents too few opportunities for learning from mistakes and coming up against problems nor an overwhelming environment that presents too few opportunities for trying out new coping strategies and experiencing successes.”

This is the third in a series of articles in which parents of teens share their experiences. The series follows the outline of five basics of parenting adolescents presented in a recent study from the Harvard University Center for Health Communication: (1) love and connect, 2) monitor and observe, 3) guide and limit, 4) model and consult, and 5) provide and advocate. The study is available free online: "Raising Teens: A Synthesis of Research and a Foundation for Action," by A. Rae Simpson, Ph.D.,